Crew ink head coach Andrulis for '05

The Columbus Crew announced Monday that head coach Greg Andrulis signed a contract extension that will keep him at the helm for the 2005 season.

Andrulis, 46, has a career MLS coaching record of 45-33-30. He is coming off of one of his most successful seasons in the league, during which he was named MLS Coach of the Year.

Only one year after missing the postseason, Andrulis led the Crew to their first-ever Supportors Shield award as the club that had the best regular-season record (12-5-13, 49 points). Additionally, Columbus set a new MLS record for consecutive regular-season games without a loss at 18.

Andrulis has been with the Crew since their inaugural season in 1996, when he served as an assistant coach under Tom Fitzgerald. He was promoted to interim head coach on May 17, 2001, leading the club to a 12-4-4 end to that season. He lost the "interim" title on Oct. 25, 2001, when he accepted the full-time job.

His .556 winning percentage is the sixth-best in MLS history and Andrulis was on the sidelines when the Crew won their first championship, the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Andrulis serves as a member of the U.S. national team's goalkeeping staff and he holds a U.S. Soccer Federation 'A' coaching license. Prior to his professional coaching career, the Connecticut native helped the Clemson (S.C.) University Tigers to an NCAA Division I national championship as an assistant coach in 1984. Andrulis then spent the next 12 years (1985-96) as the head coach at Wright State University.

Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.

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